Active Steps
How Was Your Week — Guide
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Staff Guide — Active Steps

How Was
Your Week?

A quick guide to the weekly check-in — what it is, how to complete it, and how it helps Active Steps support you better.

👤 Audience: All Staff
Read time: ~3 minutes
📱 Form: how-was-your-week.netlify.app
Overview

What is the weekly check-in?

Every Friday morning you'll receive a personalised text message from Active Steps with a link to a short form. It takes about 2 minutes and helps the team understand how you're going — and where you might need support.

📱 The link is personalised to you — tap it and the form opens straight away. No login, no app needed.
📲
Text message every Friday
Arrives at 8am with your personalised link. Works on any phone — no app required.
About 2 minutes
The star rating is the only required step. Everything else is optional and at your discretion.
🔒
Private to HR
Your rating and responses go directly to HR only. Your manager cannot see your individual submissions.
Completing the Form

How to complete the check-in

The form has four steps — only the star rating is required. Everything else is optional.

1
Rate your week — 1 to 5 stars
Tap the number of stars that matches how your week felt. 1 is tough, 5 is great. As soon as you tap, follow-up questions appear. This is the only required step.
2
Select what contributed (optional)
Tap any factors that shaped your week — workload, team support, client situations, supervision, personal matters, and more.
3
Use the optional extras (optional)
Request an HR check-in, enter the monthly gift card draw, or give a colleague a shout out. All completely optional.
4
Tap Submit
Hit Submit Check-In and you'll see a thank-you screen. Done — see you next Friday.
Optional Features

Three optional extras in every check-in

After your rating and factors, three optional sections appear. Each is independent — tick any, all, or none.

🤝
Request HR Support
Tick the box and choose how you'd prefer to be contacted — phone, email, in person, or text. HR will follow up privately. Your manager cannot see this request.
🎁
Monthly Gift Card Draw
Tick the box and enter the name you'd like on the card. One winner is drawn at random on the 1st of each month and announced to the whole team.
📣
Give a Shout Out
Pick a colleague from the dropdown and write what you're recognising them for. Your message is emailed to the whole team immediately — and the recipient enters a separate monthly draw.
Your Privacy

What stays private, what gets shared

Your wellbeing data is handled with care. Here is exactly what goes where.

Seen by HR only
Your star rating each week
Contributing factors you selected
Support requests and contact preferences
All individual response data
Shared with the whole team
Shout outs you choose to send — including your name and message
Monthly gift card draw winner announcements
Monthly shout out draw winner announcements
🔒 Your manager cannot see your individual responses. Only HR has access to the dashboard and submission data. Shout outs are the only thing that goes to the broader team — and only because you choose to send them.
Common Questions

Things you might be wondering

A few things staff commonly ask about the check-in.

📅
Do I have to fill it in every week?
It's not mandatory, but the more people participate the better Active Steps can respond to what's happening on the ground. It genuinely makes a difference.
📱
What if I don't get the text?
Contact HR to confirm your phone number is correct in the system. They can also send you a test message or share the form link directly.
📣
Can I give more than one shout out?
Each submission includes one shout out. To recognise multiple colleagues, open the form link again and submit a second time.
🎁
How do the draws work?
Two separate draws run on the 1st of each month — one for check-in entries, one for shout-out recipients. Winners are announced to everyone at Active Steps.
That's everything you need to know

Two minutes.
Every Friday.

The weekly check-in is one of the simplest ways Active Steps can understand how you're really going — and respond when you need support. We appreciate every response.

📱 Form: how-was-your-week.netlify.app/form.html
📧 Questions: hr@active-steps.com
HR and Admin Guide — Active Steps

Managing
the System

Everything you need to run the weekly check-in — managing staff, viewing responses, handling support requests, running draws, and keeping settings current.

🔧 Audience: HR and Admins
Read time: ~4 minutes
📊 Dashboard: Apps Script Web App URL
The Dashboard

Your admin dashboard

The dashboard is your central control panel. Open it using your Apps Script Web App URL and bookmark it for quick access. Seven sections cover everything you need.

📊
Overview
Live snapshot — active staff, responses this week, average rating, open support requests, draw entries, and shout outs this month.
📋
Responses
Every check-in submission logged. Filter by date range or star rating. All data also stored in your Google Sheet for export.
🤝
Support Requests
Staff who need follow-up, with contact preference and support type. Update status as you go.
👥
Staff
Add, edit, activate, and deactivate staff. Test SMS button per person. Bulk import via CSV.
🎁
Gift Card Draw
View entries and run the draw manually for any month. Automated draw runs on the 1st at 9am.
📣
Shout Outs
Full log of all shout outs given. Run the shout out draw from here — winner announced to the whole team.
Responses and Support

Viewing responses and handling support

The Responses section logs every submission. The Support Requests section shows staff who need follow-up — and lets you track status as you go.

Responses
Every submission logged with timestamp, name, rating, factors, and highlight or difficulty
Filter by date range or star rating to find what you need
All data also stored in your Google Sheet — export at any time
Use Overview trends to spot patterns in ratings and support requests
Support Requests
Every support request triggers an immediate email to hr@active-steps.com
Shows name, support type, preferred contact method, and that week's star rating
Update status to In Progress or Resolved as you follow up
New requests flagged in red — nothing falls through the cracks
Staff Management

Managing your staff list

The Staff section is where you add, edit, and manage everyone who receives the weekly SMS. Phone numbers must be in plus one format for US numbers.

Adding staff
Enter name, phone in +1XXXXXXXXXX format, and email. They'll receive the SMS from the very next Friday.
Staff on leave
Click Deactivate to pause SMS. They won't receive texts until reactivated. Response history is preserved.
📲
Test SMS
Each staff member has a Test SMS button. Use this to confirm their number works — especially after a number change.
📥
Bulk import
Import a CSV with Staff ID, First Name, Last Name, Phone, and Active columns. Choose replace or merge mode.
Monthly Draws

Running the monthly gift card draws

Two draws run automatically on the first of each month — one for check-in entries, one for shout-out recipients. Both can also be run manually from the dashboard.

1st
Every Month
Both draws run automatically at 9am via Google Apps Script triggers
2
Draws Per Month
Check-in entries and shout-out recipients — completely separate pools
All
Team Notified
Both winners announced to everyone@active-steps.com. HR gets a separate action email per draw.
💡 If a draw does not run automatically, go to Gift Card Draw or Shout Outs in the dashboard, select the month and year, and click Run Draw. Check Apps Script Triggers if this keeps happening.
Settings and Monthly Routine

Settings and your monthly checklist

The Settings section controls all automated behaviour. Changes take effect immediately and rebuild the Apps Script triggers automatically.

Settings you control
Toggle weekly SMS on or off — useful during holiday periods
Change the SMS send hour — defaults to 8am Friday
Enable or disable the automated gift card draw
Enable or disable the automated shout out draw
Monthly checklist
Check Support Requests — follow up and mark resolved
Confirm both draws ran on the 1st
Arrange two gift cards — one per draw winner
Review Overview trends — ratings and shout out activity
⚙️ After saving Settings, go to Apps Script then Triggers to confirm all three are active: sendWeeklySMS, runAutomatedDraw, and runAutomatedShoutOutDraw.
You're ready to run the system

A healthier,
more connected
team.

The weekly check-in gives Active Steps consistent insight into how staff are really going — and the tools to respond. Review responses each week, act on support requests, and celebrate the shout outs.

📊 Dashboard: Your Apps Script Web App URL
📧 HR email: hr@active-steps.com
🌐 Form: how-was-your-week.netlify.app